James H. Myers, Jr. is an inmate at the State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Rockview. He has a large lump at the base of his neck on his back. It is very painful. Sometimes the pain is excruciating. His spine is numb at the very center of his back. At night while in bed, the calves of his legs cramp up and they hurt. More than once, he has sat up and cried from the pain. In a letter of December 22, 1997, he begged me to come and see him. He claims that he needs help real bad. He does not write well, so he would rather talk. I cannot visit him, because I have been banned from the prison. Here is a log of the events that he reports.
August 7, 1996: Mr. Myers was given a pass to get a shot in his posterior 3 times a day for his head.
January 10, 1997: Mr. Myers requests to see Doctor Eggler as soon as possible She replies that he should sign in for sick leave if he has a problem.
September 19, 1997: Mr. Myers wrote: "No medication yet."
September 20, 1997: Mr. Myers wrote that he had received no medication yet. "I am still in a lot of pain in my back down to my feet. I thank God that he is with me, or I would of hung up a long time ago." At noon, he was coming out of the dining hall, when he got a pain in his head. It was a very sharp pain. He started to go down. He had a hard time walking. He made it to the door. There he held on so that he would not fall. "I don't know what is going on with me."
September 24, 1997: Mr. Myers had an E. M. G. on his left leg. He has been having a lot of pain.
September 26, 1997: Mr. Myers says he went to see Physician's Assistant (P. A.) Mrs. Lambert. He did not get to talk to her. He was told not to wait. He went back to his cell.
September 27, 1997: Mr. Myers wrote that when he got up out of bed, his left leg went bad on him. He has pain in his back down to his feet. He went to the Registered Nurse (R. N.) She could do nothing for him until the doctor returns. They say that the doctor is on call, but they do not call him. At 11:40, Mr. Myers was coming out of the dining hall when about 15 feet from the door, something happened inside his head, a sharp pain. Then his eyes. He could not see right. Then he was staggering all over the place. He started to go down. His legs would not hold him up. Then it went away. He told Sergeant Mickel what happened. Sergeant Mickel called over to T/B, but no-one came to look at him.
October 7, 1997: Mr. Myers was told that he would see Dr. Eggler on October 22, 1997. He says his back is in so much pain and his left leg is getting worse. There are so many things wrong with him, he does not know where to start.
October 8, 1997: Mr. Myers wrote that he has a pain in his right arm that goes down to his right hand. He went to sick call. He went upstairs to see Mrs. Hricko. When he came back down, he was told to go back to the block and that he was not going to be seen today and to sign up for sick call tomorrow. Rose was the nurse's name.
October 21, 1997: Mr. Myers sent a Request to Greg Gaertner, Head of Inmate Services. He requested an appointment to discuss his medical problem. The reply was "Dr. Gaertner is out until Monday."
October 23, 1997: Mr. Myers received an answer from Dr. Gaertner. The response was "I am not a medical doctor. I forwarded your request to Mr. Lidgett."
November 11, 1997: Mr. Myers says that it is getting hard for him to put up with cell mates. He has too many things wrong with him. He talked with Dr. Burke about a single cell. He is in a position to get hurt or do the hurting.
November 15, 1997: Mr. Myers was told by Mrs. Hricko that she will not see him because of some unknown reason.
November 17, 1997: Mr. Myers was told by Margaret Miller that he will not be put on the sick list to see Dr. Eggler. He is in pain every night, which wakes him up. Some nights he sits up and cries because of the pain.
December 15, 1997: Mr. Myers was told that there is not much that can be done for him.
December 17, 1997: Mr. Myers did not get all of his medication.
Mr. Myers listed the people with whom he had discussed his medical problem. These were Acting Superintendent Robert Meyers; Dr. Gaertner; Dr. Baumgarten; Dr. Everhart; Dr. Burke; Dr. Eggler; Mrs. Lambert, P. A.; Larry Lidgett, R. N.; Margaret Miller, R. N.; Jennifer M. Hricko, Psychologist; David Kuhn, Counselor; Nurse Mary Joe; Nurse Rose; and all the other nurses.
There is an undated letter from Mr. Myers to Acting Superintendent Meyers about denial of medical attention. He states that he has been trying since November 1, 1995, to get someone to address his medical needs. He has tried the following to get medical aid. He spoke with Dr. Baumgarten, who advised that he be patient. He spoke with Miss M. Miller 2 or 3 times and still nothing was done. He spoke to Miss Eggler and was told that there would be some type of medical program designed for him. He spoke with Dr. Everhart to no avail. Dr. Everhart simply said that he was not familiar with his medical problems, even though he described what he felt his medical problems were. Dr. Everhart said that he would get back to me. He never did. Mr. Myers admits that his ability to articulate, or express himself as well as others, is lacking. He was sent to an outside hospital and had an M. I. R. The test revealed that his back was messed up. There was no follow up. He requested Acting Superintendent Meyers to order the medical department to at least interview him and conduct a medical exam. He states that if it is determined by the medical staff that there is no foundation for the complaints, he will forget the whole matter. Attached to the letter to Deputy Meyers is a list of court cases dealing with medical attention. There was no response to the letter to Acting Superintendent Meyers.
Mr. Myers is a very sick man, either physically or mentally. He is not under psychiatric care, so presumably his problem is physical. Either he deliberately is not being treated for his medical problems, or there is no treatment. In the latter case, he should be given medication for pain relief, which apparently is not being done.